I am currently a engineer for Antarctic fire dept, Mcmurdo station antarctica. I have a one year contract here. I will be leaving in Oct 99. you can check my home page for some pics of down here. bye for now. www.geocities.com/southbeach/bay/2232

[This message has been edited by turbotim66 (edited August 20, 1999).]

04-07-1999, 04:06 PM

nsfirechap

Greetings from the other end-North Pole, Alaska. I'm a retired Air Force Firefighter now with the North Star Volunteer Fire Department in North Pole. Always been interested in Antartica-The closest I ever got was Thule Greenland!! Have a great day.

Jeff

04-07-1999, 07:55 PM

pjackson

Hello Antaratica
My name is Paul Iam from Ont Canada,I thought it was cold here this winter.Fighting fires in that climate must be a real challenge.
Take Care
Play Safe
Sunny South

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04-08-1999, 03:28 PM

hylo

Hi Antarctica
My name is Mark from Dublin Firebrigade in Ireland,Welcome aboard.How do you manage in that kind of weather, and what do you intend doing at the end of your contract?
Best of luck and stay safe.
Mark.

04-08-1999, 09:29 PM

Tom Lafleur

Greetings from Massachusetts:
Welcome to the forum.That must be a very interesting place to work.How do you keep your equipment from freezing up? Any sugestions could help us in the more temperate climates. Saw an add for the job in this months Firehouse.The wife won't let me apply!! Loved your web page,great pics.
Stay safe
Tom

04-12-1999, 04:13 AM

turbotim66

hi again all. just a few short notes on your replys. I am planning on traveling when my contract is done. So far I am going to Australia, New Zealand, Figi, and Tahiti. Might add to the list before I leave here. Then I will be back here next winter.
The temp down here is holding around -20f with wind chill down to the -60's. Some days its warmer and some days its colder.
As for how we keeep from freezing up our equipment, it is a chore. We have heaters installed in the pump housing, but that only helps a little. As soon as we leave the station I turn on the Generator. If it gets to cold it won't start. As soon as I get on the scene I start Recirculating water through the pump. I don't charge the hose until they are ready to go in the door. once I charge the hose line the nozzel has to be kept open a little bit. this way the hose don't freeze solid. I always have to keep the pump recirc'ing also. As soon as I have time I start all the equipment with gas engines, before they get too cold to start.
Thankfully we have only had 2 real fires this season so far. we do a lot of trainning and with charged hoses. for training we don't let the water run from the nozzel and it makes the hoses freeze quite a bit. Makes it a hassel to break down the hoses but it gives us hands on training.
One thing to make sure your equipment don't freeze make sure your pump is drained and all your drains are dry after each use. A little water will freeze a valve shut and then you have a fire truck that won't put out a fire. take care and be safe.

04-14-1999, 07:23 PM

JOHN J. DELUCA

HELLO,
YOU TALKED ABOUT WHAT YOU DO TO TAKE CARE OF THE ENGINE, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE FIREFIGHTERS?
DO YOU HAVE ANY S.O.P.'S FOR FIREFIGHTERS IN THAT WEATHER AND HOW MANY DO YOU RUN WITH ?

04-16-1999, 12:26 AM

Fire Hunter 2

I liked your web-page, it showed some nice scenery of Antarctica. I did wonder how you could be standing out in the -20F weather w/shorts and short sleeves. You must be
"The Man". Seriously, it is interesting to read about the way you have to fight fires and the way you train for them. Hope you are making a pile of $$$ for the Brrrrr weather you have to deal with in that part of the world. I would like to read some more info. about this type of firefighting and the country itself. Since you have till Oct. to hang around, how about fill us warm weather firefighters on the type of department structure, training and routine duties you may pull in a cycle or month on duty if you don't mind. I find it interesting and would enjoy reading some more. Thanks...

04-16-1999, 07:06 AM

turbotim66

well hello again. Another short note to respond to some of the questions. I will keep writting replies as long as there are new questions. Let me start by giving a little back ground on our dept. during the summer there are 44 firefighters and a chief. of the 44, 2 are captains and 6-8 are lt's(depending on the year). we run two shifts of 24 on 24 off every 2 weeks you get a kelly day. during the summer we run 2 stations. one is in town and the other is the runway operations. each firefighter rotates between the 2 stations. there are 6 people in each station every day. the off duty crew is on pager for recall in case of a fire. the pay for a starting f/f was 575/week (when I started) you also get a 14% bonus for contract compleation. your room and board is also included.
for the winter there is 10 firefighters and a captain. 2 of the f/f are lt's. the shifts are the same. during the winter we only man the station in town. no planes can fly in during the winter as the weather is too bad. during the winter we run 1 peirce engine and 1 3500gal tanker. we also run the ambulance. we have 1 other peirce engine, as a back up. most days we have 4 f/f in the house. that breaks down to 3 on the engine one on the tanker. one from the engine responds on the amb for medical calls.
as for the cold weather each f/f has access to a varity of gear to keep them warm. from sorrel f/f boots to doubleing up on flashhoods (nomex) we also carry heat packs to slid in our gloves and boots. also as soon as we have a working fire where we are going to be out for a while we ask for support from the galley (hot drinks and hot food). As a engineer I also have heavy mittens and cap with goggles. that if I have time I can put on. each f/f finds what they are comfortable with and that is what they use.
the way we do the 2 in 2 out policy is as soon as the eng gets on scene the lt and 1 f/f go to attack/rescue. the driver of the tanker gets the pump running and recirculating. and drags a supply line to the eng. then he scba's up for stand-by, with the captain.(the 2 out) as soon as I have water going to the f/f's inside I hook up the supply from the tanker and then I am eng for both trucks.(hopefully not more than 200ft apart) as soon as I get everything running I pack up also.(back-up) By this time the off duty crew should be their with the other eng. They catch a plug and connect to the tanker then they do what needs to be done, ie..ventilation,search,exposure,relief. at this time if the 2nd eng is close to me I am running all 3 trucks. if the 2nd eng has to be aroud back for exposure control then its eng stays with it packed up also. that is the whole dept for the winter and we have no mutual aid we can call.
as for a typical day at the house... we usually do 1-2 hours of training,1 hr of working out, 1-2 hours of house duties(cleaning and straightning, trucks also)2-4 hrs of dispatch(after 5:30pm) then we work around the station... painting, figuring out what needs done and doing it,building shelves, doing tabletop trainings (what if's). and that is about it in a nut shell. well this was a long one but it tells alot about what we do down here.
I'll quit chewing your ear (or eyeballs) as the case may be. Tim

Ps the temp right now at 10:00pm is a low of -42f.

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safety is not luck it is a decision

04-20-1999, 10:59 PM

turbotim66

As much as I would like to trade patches and the like, We are in the start of winter which means no planes (no mail) in or out until Aug 99 then only a couple, then in Oct the main summer body gets here and some what more routine mail services. We get mail space available. so between 3-6 times /month. so keep in contact and we will see what we can do towards the end of my contract.

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safety is not luck it is a decision

04-24-1999, 09:41 AM

turbotim66

Hi all! just a short note. went to the sunset polar plunge today. the temp was a mighty -25f and the water temp was 28f, funny how the water was warmer than the air. had to go thru a hole cut in the ice and then climb out on a ladder. the ice was 5 feet thick. had a safety belt and tending line on and that was it. wow what a rush. the bad thing was it was a 50 ft run back to the warming hut. the sun is down now and will rise again sometime mid Aug. well thats all for now. Tim

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safety is not luck it is a decision

05-10-1999, 05:33 AM

turbotim66

well had the coldest day so far as I've been here the other day. -93f with wind chill am waiting for the triple digit negatives. laters Tim

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safety is not luck it is a decision

05-19-1999, 09:02 AM

turbotim66

well here we are in the middle of the winter. 90 more days and the planes will bring in the win-fly people and supplies. Also mail, the first since feb. we are currently doing hose testing. about 5000 ft, the temp is running around -25 right now. the cold for the last few days was -88f
the high was -18f. on real cold days the water is starting to freeze in the hose before the 5 min test is up. it makes for interesting working conditions. well thats all for now, laters Tim

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safety is not luck it is a decision

05-20-1999, 12:04 PM

Tom Lafleur

Better you than me, LOL
Stay Safe
Tom

06-04-1999, 12:07 AM

Scoco

I liked your pictures. I'm amazed at the conditions that you work in. And I thought it was cold going to a fire when it was -20F, you would probably consider that a warm day!

Stay safe (and warm)

06-04-1999, 12:40 PM

FFtazUFC3

Greetings From Maryland. Just out of curiosity what would it take to get hired Summer or Winter?????? Is there a waiting list???? How do they go about testing?? What training is required??

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FF/EMT-B Cullen UFC3

06-07-1999, 04:23 AM

turbotim66

hey cullen the dept hires in denver every year. you can check the date and times at www.asa.com the hiring is over for this coming season but if you check my messages at www.firecareers.com in the community fourm section. you will find out alot more.

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safety is not luck it is a decision

06-07-1999, 06:50 PM

FFtazUFC3

Thanks for the info Tim, I will have to keep this in mind for Next Year. From what you've described and the info on the pages it sounds very interesting and challenging. Something Id like to try at least once. Do you know if they will accept applications year round or only in April????

Whos protocols do you follow??? By this I mean that I am a FF1/EMTB w/hazmat ops in Marland but am not Nationally certified nor authorized to opperate as such in any other state/country unless mutual aid or I apply for reciprocity, so am Currious as to the training required.

hey paul we are members of the Colorado state firefighters assn. most people have colorado certs. but the chief only requires ff1, emt-b, and haz-mat. he don't care which state they are from. We train using the IFSTA essentials 4th edition. any certs received throught this dept will be colorado state. hope that helps Tim

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safety is not luck it is a decision

06-16-1999, 12:43 PM

FFtazUFC3

Thanks Tim Very interesting. Try to stay warm. Good luck w/ the season. Be Safe!!!

Tim: Your reports from the South Pole have been very interesting. Regards from the Washington, D.C., area. Vinny.

06-27-1999, 07:14 AM

turbotim66

well hello again. Just a short note to give you a update. We just had our mid-winter polar plunge. -45f ambiant temp, 28f water temp. it was darn cold. After I got done I had to go back to work as I was on shift and just had someone standing in for me. so I couldn't stay at the party. The Kiwi's throw a great party. well we finished the hose testing and now we are working on getting the arrf trucks ready for the airfield operations. I have just 4 months left on the ice. then a couple of months backpacking around Australia, New Zealand,Fiji, and Tahiti. Then back to the ice 2 months after that, for the winter-over 2000. talk at you later Tim

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safety is not luck it is a decision

06-27-1999, 11:42 PM

Tom Lafleur

Tahiti !!!!! OH to be single !!!!!! LOL

07-07-1999, 12:42 AM

turbotim66

well just thought I would update you. We are gearing up for a emergancy airdrop to the south pole. We are getting our runways and arrf trucks ready to support a airdrop to the south pole. They have a medical problem that requires equipment and medicine that they don't have. So the NSF is asking the air force to send a kc-10 air tanker and a c-141 to do a air drop. we will be the emergancy runway in case anything happens to the planes. They will be flying over us to get to the south pole. we will be ready but we hope they don't have to land ,unless they have some fresh veggies/fruit, eggs, milk, and mail.LOL we will see the 141's back in Aug when the win-fly people come in. well talk to you later Tim

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safety is not luck it is a decision

07-11-1999, 12:18 AM

Tom Lafleur

Hi Tim:
Just saw on the local news about the med.emergency. A woman found a lump,and it could be cancer. Hope it isn't,been down that road.
Stay Safe
Tom